McCoughtry Gives Back Love To Louisville

Roi McCoughtry with former UofL Basketball Player Valerie Owens-Combs. Angel McCoughtry is seen in the picture with her Olympic gold medal.

Karen Napier, director of education initiatives for the Louisville-based Metro United Way.

Former University of Louisville basketball standout and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Angel McCoughtry recently celebrated another outstanding achievement – this time off the court.

On Dec. 12, the Atlanta Dream star’s charity, the Angel McCoughtry Dream Foundation, announced a donation of $15,000 to fund educational and learningsupplies for youth in Louisville.

“I want to thank everyone who believes in the dream of the Angel McCoughtry Foundation,” McCoughtry stated in an email. “My passion and commitment to help the youth is something I have always wanted to do. Thank for all of (the public’s) contributions to help our youth become more successful.”

At a press conference held inside the Marriott Louisville East Hotel, McCoughtry’s father Roi McCoughtry spoke on behalf of the foundation and his daughter – who’s overseas in Istanbul, Turkey playing basketball.

“The Angel McCoughtry Foundation is delighted to announce that Angel will be giving back to the Louisville community, where she was educated and supported her growth as a person and athlete,” said Roi, who helped start the foundation in 2010. “Angel is very passionate about youth fulfilling their dreams.”

The donation from the foundation will go to Louisville’s Out-of-School-Time Coordinating Council, assembled to create a system for improving youth services in Louisville. The Coordinating Council is a partnership of Metro Government, Jefferson County Public Schools and Metro United Way.

Sadiqa Reynolds, chief of community building in the office of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

“Our goal, like Angel’s goal, is to help make sure that children get to achieve their dreams … their hopes, their desires,” said Karen Napier, director of education initiatives for the Louisville-based Metro United Way. “One of the ways that we can help make that happen is to ensure that (children) have quality out-of-school-time programs where they can spend their time to develop their dreams and reach those dreams.”

The Angel McCoughtry Dream Foundation’s mission is to teach and empower youth to recognize their dreams by possessing good character, self-confidence and valuable life skills through training based on the fundamentals of sportsmanship, competition and respect, which will facilitate their physical, mental and spiritual maturity.

Though a native of Baltimore, Md., McCoughtry has continued to show her love for Louisville, a place that helped lead her to the life and career she now experiences with the WNBA.

Roi McCoughtry, Angel McCoughtry’s father, addressed the crowd on behalf of his daughter.

“The fact of the matter is that Angel could have given to any community,” said Sadiqa Reynolds, chief of community building in the office of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “She’s certainly connected to Maryland, she’s in Atlanta, she is loved all over this country, and the fact that she would choose Louisville and that she would help our young people, that she would help the kids in our city says a lot about the city, but more importantly about Angel.”

About the Author

[gravatar email="aanderson@voice-tribune.com" size="60" alt="Ashley Anderson" class="user-picture"]
Ashley spends half her time writing stories at The Voice-Tribune office and half her time out on the town conducting interviews, while occasionally dressing in wild outfits to fully immerse herself in the experience (aka Princess Leia at Comic Con). Ashley is a huge UofL fan and loves the Yankees and the Boston Celtics (she is fully aware of the irony). She hopes to one day outshine Erin Andrews on ESPN and enjoys running, Bardstown Road/Fourth Street, Breaking Bad and reality TV (she’s not ashamed to admit that).